Alouettes general manager Jim Popp announced Saturday that contract talks "have escalated" recently between the team and Johnson, who last played the 2011 season with the New England Patriots.

"We do expect to meet with Chad Johnson and work him out in Vero Beach, Fla. this week," Popp said in the statement. "Talks did take place and have escalated over the last week."

Johnson, 36, was released by the Miami Dolphins in August 2012 after he was arrested for allegedly head-butting his then-wife, Evelyn Lozada. He was released from jail last June after serving one week of a 30-day sentence for a probation violation.